Advocating for Change

To me, advocacy means standing up and speaking out for what you believe in, no matter what challenges you may face along the way. When I think of current movements that work to create change, I think of the Women’s March, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ social movements. When I think of historical movements that shared this same goal, I think of the Civil Rights movement and the Women’s Suffrage movement. One movement in particular that I’m very interested in exploring is the movement against Trump’s travel ban. This movement resonates with me as a college student because I know for a fact that there are students here at UD who are greatly affected by this ban and have been advised not to leave the country. The fact that these students are experiencing discrimination solely based on their Muslim heritage in a country that promotes equality is beyond hypocritical to me. The main benefits I see from exploring this movement are gaining a better understanding of what exactly is going on in our world today as well as learning how I can be an advocate for change within my own community. Some challenges I anticipate moving forward are trying to figure out how to overcome the fact that our own president, the “leader of the freeworld”, has implemented this ban in addition to trying to eliminate undeserved racial biases and stereotypes that are held against Muslims in this country (i.e. the belief that all Muslims are terrorists). Overall, I’m excited for the chance to learn more about this movement and other movements like it that advocate for change.